


The Ephemeral Nature of Dreams

by Verndiaglenn



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: (sort of!), Alternate Universe, Childhood Friends, Dreams, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, also a side bit of eiritana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27872145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verndiaglenn/pseuds/Verndiaglenn
Summary: "Ephraim. That name felt warm, and it frustrated Innes that he didn’t know why."Where the Frelia siblings can only meet the Renais twins in the land of fairies and dreams. Inspired by Eirika's fairy outfit in Fire Emblem: Heroes!
Relationships: Ephraim/Heanius | Innes
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	The Ephemeral Nature of Dreams

Innes was surely dreaming. After all, the clouds were in shapes too unnatural, too swirly. The sky wasn’t the correct shade of blue, with a greenish tint that just wasn’t right. And the air had an unnatural spring-ness to it even though it was in the middle of autumn. 

“You need to have a more open imagination,” an infuriating voice he couldn’t quite place echoed in his head. He grumbled a “shut up” in response even though he was the only one who could hear that voice. 

“I can’t believe that even now you’re still as grumpy as ever.” The reason why Innes questioned whether or not this was a dream spoke. In the few dreams he could remember, Tana typically didn’t mock him for simply existing. He was convinced that no sequence of events conjured by his brain could perfectly replicate the...unique lady that was Tana. 

“I’m not grumpy,” he replied. He wasn’t pouting, by the way. He was behaving in any way that would be appropriate for anyone in such strange circumstances. “I’m apprehensive. The two of us are in an unknown place—”

“What do you mean unknown? We’ve been here before.” Tana tilted her head as she made eye contact. Her eyes widened and she brought a hand to her mouth. “Don’t tell me you forgot.”

Her voice was full of utter disbelief. She made it seem like he forgot their own mother’s birthday, which he surmises is fair. If the two of them have truly been in such a bizarre place, then it’d be rather pathetic for him to forget, but he felt like there’s something more to this story. The more she stared at him, the more he felt nervousness prickling at him. 

“And what of it? You can’t expect me to remember every place we’ve been to!” He turned his head away, ceding defeat.

Tana’s smile returned as she pointed at his face. “You’re doing the thing where you’re huffing!”

Unbelievable. Typical of Tana to forget that things are serious to make fun of him. “Are you going to tell me more about how we’ve been here before?” 

“What are the magic words?” Oh, she was having way too much fun. If curiosity wasn’t grabbing Innes by the throat, he would have not let her win. Just today, however, he would let her have her way.

“Tana is the best sister in the world, and Innes is…” Hebraced himself for what he was about to say. It was embarrassing, after all. “... a dunce.” 

She laughed loudly, without any inhibitions, as she slammed her hands on his back several times. “Yes, you are!”

While Innes would never admit it outloud, his sister’s happiness was one of the best things to witness in the world, so he did find himself enjoying himself, even if it was at his expense. When Tana finally calmed herself, her demeanor changed—now serious.

“Innes.”

“Tana.”

“So right now, we’re dreaming.” So they were in a dream after all. “But I’m not a figment of your imagination. I’m the real Tana and we’re sharing a dream.”

Innes nodded. 

“When we were kids, we used to share this particular dream all the time.”

“Did we remember it when we woke up?” He had to ask these types of questions. This was truly something so strange. He believed his sister’s words and just found it difficult to believe that he remembered absolutely none of it. 

“I think we did, but it would fade as the days went by, but then the memories would resurface when we had the dream again.”

“That makes sense. Dreams are fickle things.”

“Leave it to Innes to try to make everything seem logical.” She rolled her eyes. “Anyways, that’s the gist of it. I admit I’ve forgotten about this place in the past few years as we haven’t had this dream since we were kids, but coming back here today has all the memories flowing back. I’m surprised it’s not the same for you. I wonder how he’ll take it.”

“Who?”

Before Tana could answer his question, he felt a light, refreshing breeze blow paired with laughter. He turned to the source and saw two people flying towards them. A man and a woman. The woman had long blue hair and was wearing an outfit that was a mix of peaches, oranges, and seafoam greens. She flew towards them with grace, like a heron on a lake. She was smiling, her eyes only on his sister. Innes smiled a bit as he could see Tana’s eyes grow bright as she stared at the woman. He could catch a slight blush on her cheeks. 

Flying next to her was the man who had messier green hair that could be easily mistaken as blue. His movements exuded a frustrating confidence and Innes could not look away. His presence just seemed to draw attention to him—surely because of his outfit that consisted of dark blues and greens and those glimmering light blue wings. It had nothing to do with that handsome smile. 

Nothing at all. 

Before he knew it, the man had crashed into him, taking him into a giant hug. “Innes! It’s been ages!”

“Y-you have a tight grip.” Innes found himself having trouble breathing as he was enveloped. But, it did feel a bit...nice. 

“Are you surprised? I definitely bulked up the past several years.” He flexed an arm and smirked. “I look good right?”

The woman who was currently holding Tana’s hands very tenderly groaned. “Ephraim! You’re so embarrassing! It’s only been a minute!”

Ephraim. That name felt warm, and it frustrated Innes that he didn’t know why. 

“Aww, Innes you look just as grumpy as ever.” Ephraim had proceeded to ignore his companion to make fun of Innes’s scowl. He took back what he said. The name didn’t feel warm. It was hot and filled Innes with indescribable rage. “You can't even pretend to be excited to see an old friend?”

An old friend? Surely another piece of the mystery of Innes’s broken memories. There was only one way forward.

“I do not wish to beat around the bush, but I don’t remember either of you,” He said firmly. “My apologies.”

Ephraim looked at him and had the audacity to pout. Innes had never seen a kicked puppy before in his life, but he was sure that this face was the perfect representation of the phenomena. 

“Can you please stop looking at me like that.” Innes had to look away, especially when his heart started to do...things. Things he didn’t like. 

“No. Make him feel bad, Ephraim!” Tana yelled, pumping her fists in the air. “He deserves it.”

Innes flushed at that. He couldn’t help that he forgot! And now it was three against one. Again for something he had no control over. 

A single memory. Three children laughed at him because he fell, getting his hair wet in the river. He could name a name to every face: Tana, Eirika, and Ephraim.

“Urgh.” Innes clutched his head. “I think I just remembered something.”

That got everyone’s attention. Eirika, he remembered her as Eirika, put her hand in front of her mouth to show surprise. Just like Tana earlier. They do say that habits are easily adopted by those close to one another. “What was it?”

“The three of you, laughing at me. That time….at the river.”

“Oh! Your memories must be returning since you’re spending time with us. That’s great, Innes!” She smiled. Was she floating? It seemed like it. “We have a lot to catch up on. This is perfect!” 

“If that’s the case, then I know what we should do.” Ephraim crossed his arms as he and Innes locked eyes. “Let’s have a duel! You and me, Innes!”

“A duel? That’s the first thing you wa—” Eirika started before Innes interrupted her.

“Deal.” Innes could see the look on Ephraim’s face. That was the face of someone who thought they could win. How utterly foolish. Innes would not be bested by the likes of him. “No matter what competition you have at hand. I’ll come out victorious.” 

“Oh? You’re awfully confident. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.” He brought his head close to Innes, their foreheads almost touching. Innes pretended to not notice the warmth in his cheeks.

“I think I do, actually. I can already see this will barely be a challenge.” He would not falter, no matter what Ephraim threw at him.

“Let’s go, pretty boy. I’ll make you remember everything about me.” Innes channeled all of his strength to not react to the comment and the self-assured stare that was, unfortunately, very attractive. He would not falter.

Tana groaned. “They’re back! And they’re worse than before!”

“We’ll make it through this, Tana.” Eirika patted Tana’s shoulders, trying to bring comfort as they watched their idiot brothers continue their back and forth argument. 

* * *

ƸӜƷ•°*””*°•.ƸӜƷ•

* * *

It was evening now in the Renais castle. The sun’s glow painted the castle’s white walls orange. With the zinnias and poppies decorating the entire courtyard, it would be fitting to call the castle a brilliant flame. It was a shame that the two men sparring could not appreciate such a sight—eyes only on each other. 

After the first two duels, Tana and Eirika had excused themselves as Eirika wished to show Tana how much the castle had changed in the past several years. They had also realized that the two would not stop until exhaustion took over. Hand and hand, they giggled and laughed about the ridiculousness about their brothers. 

On the courtyard, two men were locked in stalemate. They were both using training swords for this particular duel, neither wanting to yield to the other. Currently, they were at a tie. However, if Innes won this match, Ephraim would tell him “the thing we promised years ago when we last dueled.” 

While many of Innes’s memories resurfaced during their various competitions—that varied from sparring matches to something as simple as who could hold the most apples in one hand—there were still particular events that just came up blank. They were nagging at him, begging him to remember them. Innes was determined to win this match, because he truly wanted to know—to finish piecing together the childhood he had with Ephraim. He could remember how happy the other boy made him and how they pushed each other to grow. 

He was always grateful for Ephraim’s attempts to get through his prickly exterior. No matter how many times he initially pushed him away, Ephraim would try, try, and try. Innes truly couldn’t believe that he forgot such an important person.

Regardless, he couldn’t afford to lose focus, even if Ephraim looked extremely handsome even with all the sweat rolling down his face. Even if Ephraim really had grown into a man, with toned arms and all. Even if his eyes when extremely focused sent chills down Innes’s spine. Even if his laugh was brighter than any sunrise Innes had ever seen. Innes tried to avert his gaze. He needed a few seconds to recover.

“What are you looking at?” Ephraim asked. “Keep your eyes on me.”

Of course Ephraim would notice. 

“Maybe I was just throwing you off. What? Do you want my eyes on you that badly?”

“I—” Innes couldn’t tell if Ephraim was blushing from the statement or if it was just because of all the physical activity they were engaged in. Either way, Innes was a tactician. This was the moment he had to strike, and so he did. He knocked Ephraim’s leg, destroying his balance. Innes stood above Ephraim, pointing the sword at his chin. “I guess I’m victorious.” 

“Wipe that smug grin off your face,” Ephraim said. He gave Innes a frustrated smile as he extended his hand. “Help me up.”

Innes complied. The servants had brought the two a jug of water, so the two walked over to the table where it was situated. Innes poured both of them a glass. 

“So, about what you were going to tell me if I won.” He took a gulp of water. Nothing was more refreshing than cold water after a good workout.

“Oh yea.” Ephraim rubbed the back of his head. “So you remembered how we had a lot of these types of competitions as children, right?”

Innes nodded. 

“And well, there was one time we made a bit of a wager, and…” Ephraim broke eye contact. He muttered something about needing to take a deep breath to regain his composure. Innes waited patiently, and took another sip from his cup. 

“And we both made a promise that whoever won got to marry the other person.”

Innes choked on his water.

* * *

°ƸӜƷ•°*””*°•.ƸӜƷ•

* * *

Innes finally recovered from the coughing fit that ensued from choking on water, after many helpful pats from Ephraim. He didn’t know what to say, so he waited for Ephraim to make the next move.

“Well?” Is all he asked.

“I’m not...I’m not going to marry a man I just re-met!” Innes tried his hardest not to blush, but he already knew that was a lost cost. He’d think that would deter Ephraim, but instead he just laughed. Where was the embarrassed Ephraim from just a few minutes ago? Somehow he turned it against Innes, making him the loser in this game of theirs.

“Okay, how about this? I’ll come visit you in the real world and court you, how about that?” 

“That doesn’t seem possible. We’ve only met in dreams, haven’t we?” As much as Innes would want to see Ephraim more—to make sure he wouldn’t forget the other man—he had his doubts. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, after all.

Ephraim smirked. “Turns out we can. I spent the last couple years figuring out if we fairies could visit the real world, and turns out we can! I have to work out some more things, and it may take a while, but I know I can do it. I just need to know if you’re willing to wait.”

Innes was about to question it further. It was too good to be true, after all. But before he could, Ephraim stopped him by placing a hand in front of Innes’s face.

“No. I’m not lying. I would never lie about something like this.” His eyes were fierce, like they were ready to enter a battle. And with that Innes knew he could trust in Ephraim words—trust in Ephraim.

“I’ll wait for you.” He let himself smile softly. “I don’t want to forget you again.”

“That’s good.” Ephraim looked up at the sky. “I think you two are going to wake up soon, actually.”

That was a thing wasn’t it? This was a dream, a land so fragile for someone like him. 

“Let me give you something so you don’t forget me this time.” Ephraim grabbed Innes’s shoulders.

At this point, Innes knew better than to question Ephraim. Ephraim moved one of his hands, so that it was cupping Inne’s face, holding it like he was a precious gem. He saw Ephraim’s face inch closer, and so Innes met him in the middle. He closed his eyes as their lips met. It was a short, chaste kiss, but it still set his heart aflutter. When Innes finally opened his eyes, he saw Ephraim with a goofy smile on his face. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”

Innes laughed. “You’ll get more chances when you come to court me.”

“Believe me. I will.”

The last thing Innes saw was Ephraim’s beautiful face under the sunset’s rays, before he woke to the sunrise trickling through his curtains. He got up and went to his window to stare at the normal blue sky with normal clouds in the autumn wind. 

“Ephraim. Don’t make me wait too long.”

**Author's Note:**

> hi initially i wrote this and let three people read this and i was like okay! that's enough!! but i decided to let myself be percieved again on ao3 so if u read this silly, self-indulgent thing, thank you so much!! i hae a soft spot for everyone here so im glad i was able to capture something that i hope was sweet! 
> 
> shoutout to rio as it was in our dms that this au came to life! also i guess thanks to feh pass too even that shit sucks man.
> 
> anyways im @sylveanh on twitter  
> another reason i posted this fic so that i could practice making fun fic graphics so if u saw that i hope it looked pretty!


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